Floating structure



Nov. 21, 1961 s. B. WILLIAMS 3,009,326

FLOATING STRUCTURE 7 Filed Oct. 25, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

A FIVE 76'.

Nov. 21, 1961 s. B. WILLIAMS 3,009,326

FLOATING STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 25, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEI JTOR., 64777 .5. )447ZE47276,

Nov. 21, 1961 s. B. WILLIAMS 3,009,326

FLOATING STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 25, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet /Z /7 v 4/7 g j g-r 0 J1 INVENTOR.

64777 ,B, h/z afinst Unite States atent fltice 3,009,326 FLOATING STRUCTURE Sam B. Williams, 24520 W. Twelve Mile Road, Rte. 5, Birmingham, Mich. Filed Oct. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 692,410 1 Claim. (CI. 61-48) This invention relates to floating structures, and more particularly to units which are usable as piers, rafts or in other arrangements suitable for water activities.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved floating structure which may be assembled with like structures in any of various arrangements such as boat piers and swimming rafts, and in which both assembly and disassembly are quickly and easily accomplished.

It is another object to provide an improved floating structure of this type which provides extreme stability in the water when weight is concentrated on one side of the structure, but is nevertheless flexible between sections to prevent undue stress on the connecting parts and will readily adjust to changes in water level.

It is another object to provide an improved floating structure having the above characteristics, which is attractive in appearance, is especially adapted for use by swimmers, boaters and sunbathers, and is capable of being assembled in various sizes.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of two floating structures of this invention connected in alignment to form a pier;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in FIGURE 1 and illustrating the hinge locations;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of one of the structures showing the shape of the pontoons, parts being sectioned for clarity;

FIGURE 4 is a detailed plan view of one of the hinge brackets;

FIGURE 4a is a cross-sectional View in elevation taken along the line 4a4-a of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed plan of another hinge bracket;

FIGURE 6 is a detailed elevational View of one of the post attaching pins;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 77 of FIGURE 2 and showing the manner in which a pontoon and molding are secured to the platform;

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 taken along the line 88 of FIGURE 2 and showing the securing means for a hinge bracket;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a pier formed by connecting four of the improved floating structures in alignment;

FIGURE 10 is a view of a raft formed by connecting two of the floating structures alongside each other; and

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary plan view of the structure of the structure so that sections may be hinged together to form a floating pier. The hinge brackets are so constructed as to be capable of projecting from the ends or sides of a section, so that sections may be connected side by side instead of in alignment. For anchoring a pier to the shore, a pair of post attaching pins are provided which may be connected to one pair of hinge brackets and releasably secured to a pair of fixed posts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, each floating section is generally indicated at '11 and comprises a flat platform 12 which is of rectangular shape as seen in FIGURE 2 and may be constructed of any suitable material. If the structure is to be used for swimmers or bathers, or as a floating pier, it has been found that plywood is a suitable material for platform 12, since it is durable, has good non-slipping properties, and affords a comfortable surface for sunbathers.

A pair of pontoons 13 are secured beneath platform 12, these pontoons being seen most clearly in FIGURES 1 and 3. Each pontoon is of elongated shape and extends longitudinally beneath one side of the platform. The pontoons are preferably constructed of a rigid material such as aluminum, and have side and end walls which taper slightly toward each other in a downward direction. The bottoms 14 of pontoons 13 are ahnost flat, having a slight V-shaped configuration as seen in FIGURE 3.

The upper edges of pontoons 13 are provided with attaching flanges 15, these flanges being secured beneath platform 12 with sealing strips 16 interposed between the flanges and platform. A protective molding 17 of L-shaped cross section is provided around platform 12, one leg of this molding resting on the platform and the other leg extending downwardly along the platform edge, as seen in FIGURES 7 and 8. A plurality of bolts 18 and nuts 19 are provided which serve to secure molding 17 as well as pontoons 13 to the platform. Similar bolts are provided in the interior of platform 12 which serve to secure the inner flanges of the pontoons to the platform.

The four corners of each floating section 11 are provided with hinge brackets, these brackets being referred to as right-hand hinge brackets generally indicated at 20 and left-hand hinge brackets generally indicated at 21. Hinge brackets 20 and 21 are of generally similar construction as seen in FIGURES 4 and 5 respectively, and a left-hand and righthand hinge bracket are provided at each end of each section 11 as will be noted in FIGURE 2. Each bracket 20 has a relatively long attaching arm 22 of T-shaped cross section and a relatively short attaching arm 23, bolt holes 24 being provided in these arms. The brackets are installed with the depending leg portion of the T facing downwardly. A clearance slot 25 is provided between arms 22 and 23 for accommodating a welding bead (not shown) at each corner of pontoon 13. In each bracket 20, a pair of spaced apertured ears 26 are provided for receiving a hinge pin.

Each bracket 21 comprises a long arm 27 and a short arm 28, these arms being of T-shaped cross section and provided with bolt holes 29. Brackets 21 are also installed with the depending leg portion of the T facing downwardly. A clearance slot 30 is provided in each bracket 21, and a single apertured ear 31 extends outwardly from the bracket, this ear being adapted to be inserted between ears 26 of a bracket 20. Bars 26 of each bracket 20 and ear 31 of each bracket 21 extend parallel to the direction of their long arms 22 and 27 respectively. When viewed from the same side, such as the top as seen in FIGURES 4 and 5, short arm 23 of bracket 20 and short arm 28 of bracket 21 extend in opposite directions from their respective long arms. Bolt holes 23 of brackets 20 and bolt holes 28 of brackets 21 are evenly spaced in both legs of each bracket, this spacing being the same as that of bolts 18.

With this arrangement, it will be noted in FIGURE 2 that when brackets 20 and 21 are secured with their ears extending from the ends of sections 11, left and righthand brackets at each end of each section may be interfitted with corresponding brackets in the adjacent section, the brackets being joined by removable hinge pins 32. In other words, since each end of section 11 must have one bracket 20 and one bracket 21 in order for their ears to project from the section ends, each singleeared bracket 21 will be interfitted with a double-cared bracket 20 on the adjacent section 11. As seen in FIGURE 2, for example, the lower left and upper right hand corners of each section 11 receive brackets 20 While the remaining two corners receive brackets 21. It will also be noted that if it is desired to secure two sections 11 side by side instead of in alignment, brackets 20 and 21 at each end of each section may be interchanged (that is, a bracket 20 will be placed at each location of a bracket 21 in FIG- URE 2, and vice versa) and secured to the sections so that their respective ears extend from the sides of the section instead of from the ends. In this manner, the sections may be quickly and easily converted from use as pier sections to use as sections of a swimming raft or similar assembly. In the vicinity of brackets 20 and 21, bolts 13 are of such length as to secure the brackets as Well as pontoons 13 to the platforms, as seen in FIGURE 7, using removable nuts 33.

In order to secure a pier built up of sections 11 to the shore, a pair of tubular posts 34 may be provided as seen in FIGURE 1. In this figure, posts 34 are shown as being anchored in ground 35 adjacent the shoreline, the posts extending upwardly above the Waterline indicated in dotdash lines at 36. A pair of post attaching caps 37 serve to secure adjacent brackets 20 and 21 to posts 34. The construction of caps 37 is seen best in FIGURE 6, each cap 37 being of hollow cylindrical shape and having an upper flange 38 which rests on top of the post after the cap 37 has been inserted therein. A pair of upstanding ears 39 extend upwardly from flange 32 and are securable to brackets 20 and 21 by pins 40, as seen in FIG- URES 1 and 2. The height of posts 34 may be chosen so that the adjacent section 11 is completely floating or is partially resting on ground 35, depending on the water level, the caps sliding on the posts 34 (FIGURE 1) as the level changes.

Having described in detail the construction of a particular section 11, the use of these sections in constructing a floating pier or raft will be seen from an examination of FIGURES 9 and 10. When used as a pier, sections 11 will be hinged in alignment and secured so as to extend outwardly from shore 41. With this arrangement, a boat 42 may be docked alongside the pier and swimmers or boaters 43 may walk to and from the shore. It will be noted that due to the unique anchoring and hinging arrangement, a high degree of stability against tilting will be provided for the pier. This will be in part due to the fact that all sections of the pier are rigidly connected to prevent relative tilting therebetween by brackets 20 and 21. Furthermore, the stability provided by fixed posts 34 will be effective along the entire pier due to these hinged connections. The location of pontoons 13 along the outer edges of the pier will further add to their stability. It should be noted in this respect that the crosssectional shape of the pontoons as illustrated in the drawings will provide maximum change of water displacement when the pier is tilted, thus enhancing stability. It should also be observed that changes in the water level may be easily accommodated by the pier due to the hinged connections between sections 11 and further because of the sliding action of caps 37 in posts 34.

Should it be desired to use sections 11 as a swimming raft, they may be attached in side-by-side relation as indicated in FIGURES 10 and 11. In order to accomplish this, brackets 20 and 21 will be reversed from the positions shown in FIGURE 2 at each end of each section 11, so that the ears thereof will extend from the sides of sections 11. By reinsertion of hinge pins 32, the sections may thus be easily reconnected in their side-by-side relation. Posts 34 will of course not be necessary when the sections are used as a swimming raft, and the hinge brackets on the exposed edges of the raft may also be omitted. It should be noted that with either arrangement shown in FIGURES 9 and 10, the structure will have a pleasing and attractive appearance without unsightly pontoons projecting from the sides or ends of the platform. Should it be desired to remove the structure from the water at the end of the season, sections 11 may be easily disassembled by removing hinge pins 32 and each section quickly floated ashore.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claim.

What is claimed is:

In a floating pier, a plurality of sections in aligned relation, each of said sections comprising a rectangular platform and a pair of rigid pontoons secured beneath said platform and in spaced parallel relation along the sides thereof, hinge brackets secured to each of said platforms adjacent each of the corners thereof, said brackets having apertured ears projecting from said edges, pivot pins connecting contiguous ears of adjacent sections, a pair of posts secured to the ground adjacent the shoreline and being of sufiicient length to project above the waterline, and a pair of post attaching caps pivoted to the innermost bracket ears of the innermost section and slidably connected to the tops of said tubular posts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 407,422 Stewart July 23, 1889 1,900,319 Vermeulen Mar. 7, 1933 1,997,586 Kingman Apr. 16, 1935 2,376,023 Bailey May 15, 1945 2,423,832 Gearon July 15, 1947 2,453,155 Nelson Nov. 9, 1948 2,565,369 Hamilton Aug. 21, 1951 2,597,288 Caldwell May 20, 1952 2,669,960 Laycock Feb. 23, 1954 2,715,314 Smith Aug. 16, 1955 2,742,012 Bridges Apr. 17, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,031,967 France 1953 1,063,852 France 1953 

